In response to President Trump’s Proclamation to limit the rights of people seeking asylum along the southern border of the US, Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:

“President Trump’s Proclamation is yet another attempt to destroy the United States´ long tradition to guarantee the fundamental human right to seek protection from life-threatening fear and persecution.

“Asylum is not a loophole, it is a lifeline. This policy needlessly places the lives of thousands of people in danger. US law states that any individual can seek asylum, whether or not they are at an official point of entry.

“Beyond Trump’s dehumanising rhetoric are mothers, fathers, and children fleeing extremely dangerous situations enduring a perilous journey because they’ve had no choice but to leave their home.”

“The narrative that people seeking refuge are a security threat is a manufactured crisis by the Trump administration rooted in the politics of hate and fear.

“Since 2017, Amnesty has documented that thousands of people already wait for weeks on end at the ports of entry, and others have been wrongfully turned away by US border officials as they attempt to seek protection.

“Criminalisation of asylum-seekers rather than compassion has created some of the most shameful policies I’ve ever witnessed in this country.”

Last month, Amnesty released a report finding that US border authorities regularly violated both domestic and international law by turning away asylum-seekers at the border without registering or determining their claims.

Amnesty researchers have been on the ground with the Central American ‘migrant caravan’, with people who will be asking for asylum, including many children and elderly.